A HISTORY OF LANCASHIRE 



by battle, fire or water was allowed. 47 The burgesses 

 could marry their daughters as they chose, 48 and were 

 free in the matter of milling and malting 49 ; they 

 had right to common of pasture 80 and to expenses 

 when travelling on the town's business. 51 



The titles of prefectus (or prepositus) and pretor for 

 the chief officers are noteworthy, for the terms 'mayor' 

 and ' bailiff' were already in use in the time of 

 Edward II." The community held the town of the 

 king in fee farm," and one clause of the Custumal 

 ordains that the ' pretor ' of the court should collect 

 the king's farm at the four terms, and if a burgess 

 did not pay at the second demand the door of his 

 house was to be taken off and might not be replaced 

 till due payment had been made. 54 The reeve had 

 to account in the farm rent for the goods of a man 



who had been found carrying bad money." The 

 town court was the king's court, 66 and the common 

 fund seems to have been called the king's purse. 57 



In 1314 began a series of grants of pavage to the 

 mayor and town of Preston for the improvement of 

 the ways. 68 The charter was confirmed from time 

 to time, 69 but no change of importance was made till 

 1566, when Elizabeth, confirming the previous 

 charters, decreed that the mayor and bailiffs should 

 be assisted in the government of the town by ' twenty- 

 four men of the more discreet and worthy men ' of 

 the borough, who should be called the capital 

 burgesses and form the Common Council, meeting in 

 the Tollbooth or Moot Hall. The mayor for the time 

 being was to be the justiciary, coroner and clerk of 

 the market. 60 



stool (ad c ukestolam) ; no. 31. Should 

 anyone carrying false money be captured 

 the 'prepositus' must account for the 

 money and send the criminal to the king 

 for punishment ; those who caught him 

 should have the clothes ; no. 41. 



47 Clauses 18, 22. Should there be 

 wager of battle between a burgess and a 

 knight the latter must fight in person ; 

 no. 45. 



In 1184-5 a fi ne f 5 marks was levied 

 by the king because a man had been put 

 ' at the water ' without warrant ; Farrer, 

 Lana. Pipe R. 55. 



48 Clause 23. Succession to property 

 is regulated by no. 32. 



49 Clauses 24, 25. 

 80 Clause 36. 



sl Clause 27. 



sa ' Pretors ' occur at Clitheroe also. 

 Ralph the reeve of Preston occurs about 

 1 200, together with Roger his son ; 

 Lanes. Pipe R. 335. Roger, 'pretor' of 

 Preston, apparently the reeve, attested a 

 local charter about 1220 ; Kuerden MSS. 

 iv, C 25*. 



Roger reeve of Preston, Ralph his son 

 and Robert the Clerk of Preston occur 

 about the same time ; Add. MS. 32106, 

 no. 378. Baldwin de Preston was reeve 

 in 1246, and chose the jury of twelve 

 (including himself) who came from the 

 borough ; Assize R. 404, m. 1 9^. 



There seems to have still been no 

 'mayor' in 1292, when the bailiff* ap- 

 pearing for the town were Adam son of 

 Robert and Robert son of Roger. 



To a charter already quoted Roger 

 Fade, ' then chief bailiff of Preston,' was 

 a witness ; OO, no. 1099. Local charters 

 to about 1320 are usually attested by the 

 two bailiffs of the town ; but in one early 

 deed Adam brother of Filbard, mayor, and 

 William and Roger brother of Roger (?), 

 reeves, were principal witnesses ; ibid. 

 no. no i. In 1311-12 William son of 

 Robert the Tailor granted to John del 

 Wich land in the new field under Ful- 

 wood, and the witnesses were the mayor, 

 Robert son of Roger, six bailiffs Adam 

 de Bury, William son of Nicholas, 

 William son of Paulin, Henry Banastre, 

 Roger Salley, Albred son of Adam and 

 the clerk of Preston, William de Wigan ; 

 Towneley MS. DD, no. 2198. In the 

 guild of 1328 the mayor and two bailiffs 

 are named, and the government at that 

 time was conducted in the name of the 

 mayor, bailiffs and burgesses. 



The community had a common seal as 

 early as 1250 ; Cockcrsand Chartul. (Chet. 

 Soc.), i, 220-1. A seal of 1376 is in 

 the British Museum (Birch, Catalogue, 

 no - SB'S); It; hows the Agnus Dei, 



statant regardant, with banner flag, and 

 on the lamb's shoulder a shield bearing 

 the duchy arms. It is surrounded with 

 the legend -j- SIGILL* COMVNE BVRGENCIVM 

 DE PRESTON. The seal of 1415 is the 

 same, with the addition of three P's 



round the lamb, thus: V V- About 



the end of the 1 7th century the statant 

 posture was altered to couchant. The 

 seals of 1415 and the present time are 

 shown in Fishwick, op. cit. 36, 37. In 

 1 349 the king granted a seal for recogni- 

 zances of debts ; the greater piece was to 

 remain in charge of the mayor and the 

 smaller piece with a clerk deputed by the 

 king ; Cal. Pat. 1 348-50, p. 266. William 

 Clifton was appointed to be keeper of the 

 smaller piece in 1423 ; ibid. 1422-9, 

 p. 101. 



The Moot Hall is named in a deed of 

 1377, by which Thomas de Molyneux of 

 Cuerdale and Joan his wife gave the 

 mayor, bailiffs and community of Preston 

 a small piece of land (12 ft. by 12 ft.) ad- 

 joining the said hall, at a rent of 6s, ; OO, 

 no. 1506. 



88 This does not seem to be mentioned 

 in any of the early charters. 



The original farm of the town was 

 9, but in or before 1179 was increased 

 by 6 ; Farrer, op. cit. 42, 131. In 

 1 212 the burgesses held three plough-lands 

 in Preston by a rent of 15 ; Lanes. Inq. 

 and Extents (Rec. Soc. Lanes, and Ches.), 

 i, 45, 138, 289. The diminution from 

 the six plough-lands of Domesday Book is 

 probably accounted for by the separation 

 of Fulwood and Ribbleton. 



64 Clause ii. " Clause 41. 



66 ' Curia nostra ' ; no. 9. 



57 If a stranger claimed a debt before 

 the reeve and the debtor would not pay 

 the 'pretor' paid it out of the king's 

 purse, and then seized the debtor's 

 chattels or took possession of his house ; 

 no. 33. 



68 Cal. Pat. 1313-17, p. 1 86. The 

 tolls which might be levied are printed 

 in Fishwick, Preston, 25. Other grants 

 were made in 1328 (for two years) and 

 in 1333 (for five years) ; Cal. Pat. 1327 

 30, p. 270 ; 1330-4, p. 408. At a trial 

 in 1334 it was alleged that the men of 

 Preston had obtained pavage charters for 

 five and then for three years, and then, 

 the town being sufficiently paved, pur- 

 chased another charter to last for five 

 years, ' to the great oppression of the 

 people of those parts.' Nicholas de 

 Preston and three others appeared for the 

 community to aver that the additional 

 paving was required, but the decision was 

 against them, and they had to pay a fine. 



94 



The pavage dues were stated to amount 

 to 10 marks a year ; Coram Rege R. 297, 

 Rex m. 21. 



In 1337 an inquiry was made as to 

 the right of pasture in Fulwood ; Lans- 

 downe MS. 559, fol. 66/366. 



The taxation of the ninth of the borough 

 of Preston in 1340 has been preserved and 

 supplies forty-four names of persons 

 taxed ; Subs. R. bdle. 130, no. 15. 



In 1341 a commission was appointed 

 to inquire into a suspected misappropria- 

 tion of the pavage money raised ; Cal. Pat. 

 1340-3, p. 313. Another grant of pavage 

 was made by Duke Henry in 1356 ; 

 Dep. Keeper's Rep. xxxii, App. 344. 



In 1582 Richard Stirrop was admitted 

 burgess in consideration of his making 

 the post-holes in the market stead at the 

 yearly fairs and repairing the causeway 

 between Barkhouse Hill and the windmill 

 at the east end of the town ; Abram, 

 Mem. of the Guilds, 33. 



59 By Richard II in 1379, preserved 

 at Preston 5 see Cal. Pat. 1377-81, 

 p. 340. By Henry IV in 1401, also at 

 Preston ; a new clause was inserted, 

 allowing the burgesses to use any of the 

 liberties, &c., granted by former charters, 

 even if they or their predecessors had not 

 hitherto fully availed themselves of the 

 same. By Henry V in 1414. By 

 Henry VI in 1425, now at Preston. By 

 Philip and Mary in 1557, at Preston. 



For the charters of 1401 and 1414 see 

 also Charter R. 2 Hen. IV, pt. i, no. 8 ; 

 i Hen. V, pt. iii, no. 3. 



60 The charter probably ratified customs 

 in the government of the town which had 

 grown up in the course of time. At the 

 guild of 1500 it was ordained that the 

 mayor should nominate two ' ancient, 

 discreet and honest burgesses,' called 

 elisors, who in turn were to nominate 

 twenty-four burgesses, not bearing office 

 in the town, to choose fit persons to be 

 mayor, bailiff and sub-bailiff ; the mayor, 

 after his election, chose a second bailiff 

 and a Serjeant for the mace ; Abram, 

 Mem. of the Guilds, 23. 



In a writ de quo ivarr. issued in 1487 

 the corporation were called upon to show 

 by what title they claimed to elect a 

 mayor. The 15 a year rent to the 

 Crown is named ; Pal. of Lane. Writs 

 Proton. 13 Hen. VII. For part of the 

 reply see Kuerden MSS. iv, P 10 (the 

 markets). 



In 1527 Sir Richard Hoghton made a 

 lawless attempt to impose on the town 

 his own nominees as mayor, bailiff and 

 Serjeant. It was then the custom to 

 nominate priests as elisors ; Fishwick, 

 Preston, 38-42, quoting Duchy of Lane. 



